Pirates Rumors: Pittsburgh chasing rare in-division trade with Cardinals targets

The direction the Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly taking this offseason is very exciting. They have already been tied to a handful of free agents that are typically out of their price range. Some of the players they've been linked to have been Kyle Schwarber, Josh Naylor, and Ryan O'Hearn. Regardless of how realistic any of the targets might be, there is an obvious trend here that the Pirates are reportedly also seeking in trade calls with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In an article from Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, the insiders mentioned that the Pirates have reached out to St. Louis about their left-handed hitters on the trade market. There are three in question on the Cardinals' current roster: Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbar, and Nolan Gorman.

It is no secret that Pittsburgh is targeting left-handed bats this offseason, specifically ones that can hit for power. They have reportedly expressed that interest through many different avenues.

Pirates reportedly looking for left-handed bats in trade talks with rival Cardinals.

The only Cardinals player mentioned who would be worth trading for is Donovan. He generated a 119 wRC+ in 2025 and was worth a 2.9 fWAR. The second baseman was an all-around strong hitter, batting .287 with a .775 OPS and a 13% strikeout rate.

Donovan would likely be expensive in prospect capital, yet it would be worth it for the Pirates to make a move, considering his arbitration projection is just $5.4 million. He comes with two years of club control, so he would also be an extension candidate as well. In exchange for Donovan, the Pirates could package away surplus pitching like Mike Burrows, Levi Sterling, and Anthony Solometo.

The Cardinals would get three young pitchers in such a package, with Burrows bringing immediate help to their rotation (and five years of control). MLB Pipeline ranks Sterling 12th and Solometo 25th in the organization. When healthy, Solometo has a funky delivery from the left side and found lots of success in 2023, but injuries have stunted his development thus far. Sterling is 19 years old and has shown solid strikeout stuff, but his command has been shaky so far. Who knows how the Cardinals value the Pirates' farm? They might require an overpay, given the in-division complications and number of teams that are reportedly interested in Donovan. Still, the Pirates' pitching surplus could really help them out here.

The other two players in Nootbar and Gorman aren't moving the needle like Donovan. Gorman comes with a lot of power upside, belting 27 homers in 2023, but has yet to post a strikeout rate below 30% across four seasons. Nootbar had a down year in 2025, posting a 96 wRC+ with a .686 OPS. Before 2025, he put together three straight seasons with a wRC+ over 114. Both are in their arbitration years as well and would be cheaper than Donovan. Gorman is more of a project, similar to Jack Suwinski, where Nootbar is more proven.

The Pirates really need to back up all this talk with a big splash this offseason. The fans have already expressed a lot of frustration with the organization, and now that their hopes are up from all of these reports, the front office must back it up before they let fans down once again. Their attendance dropped significantly in 2025, and they cannot afford for it to fall even further.